Our Little Foxes are in their SNOW DAY era hopefully having "snow" much fun! Share your snow pictures in the comments! 🦊❄️☃️
We are pleased to welcome back Ms. Cat Brantley! She has worked with Bonner multiple times over the past few years and every time she brings something new and amazing to our students. This year she will be working with our 5th grades focusing on indigo dying!
Bio
Cat Brantley is an artist, visual arts teacher, and mindfulness teacher living in Charleston, SC. With 15+ years of teaching art and outdoor education, Cat has developed a passion for teaching creative problem solving and mindfulness through art making. Her mediums of choice are watercolor and acrylic, pen and ink illustration, indigo dye, and batik fabric dyeing. A majority of her residencies focus on indigo dyeing and its connection to SC history, mandala painting and its connection to math, science, and the mindfulness practice, as well as poetry writing and expressive abstract painting. Cat and her sister, Dot, own a creative workshop business, Sister Moon Studio, offering art workshops to adults and creating handmade batiks, upcycled clothing, and indigo shibori items. Cat is also creating an online mindful art resource, Mindful Art Creative, and teaches art and mindfulness workshops around town.
Introducing Angela Gibson, Michael Canty and Hamadi Brown of Libation! Next week our fourth graders will have the opportunity to dive into African dance and drumming with these amazing artist!
Bios
Angela Gibson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is the founder and artistic director of Libation African Drum and Dance Ensemble. She has taught the history of all dances, choreography, and dialects of songs known along with the musicality of each rhythm for drummers and dancers of company members and community classes. She has constructed costumes and accessories for all company members. Talented in dance and technology, she has created a company website and all social media platforms. Mrs. Gibson currently teaches at Ballet Spartanburg’s Center for Dance Education at Chapman Cultural Center where she teaches for community members about traditional West African dance and drums. She makes the costumes for the community members for our annual recital. Mrs. Gibson served as Artistic Director for Zaki West African Drum and Dance Ensemble in Greenville, SC, October 2018 to December 2022. She was the Founder of Oluwaseyi Drum and Dance Ensemble in Fountain, Colorado, May 2005 to March 2017. She has performed with world-renowned dancer Djeneba Sako of Mali West Africa throughout Colorado.
Hamadi “Mahdi” Brown is a native of Ravenel, SC, located in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. Hamadi loves the arts and stands firm on the theme that EXPOSURE empowers ALL! He advocates for doing as much as possible to better oneself regardless of the current situation. Hamadi currently resides in Greenville, SC, as a high school counselor. Hamadi’s tenure in education has allowed him to make lifelong connections with stakeholders and students
Michael Canty is a native of Columbia, South Carolina, and is enthusiastic about West African percussion. He developed an interest in music at an early age, learning to play various instruments, and exploring different genres. As a young adult, Michael became deeply entranced in the rhythms of Africa and the West African diaspora. This fascination coincided with his personal ancestral story and elevated his commitment to understanding the essence of the drum. Under the mentorship of Djembefolas (Master Drummers) Amara Camara and Ibrahima Dioubate of Conakry, Guinea, West Africa, Michael studied numerous techniques and performance styles he enjoys exhibiting today. He is currently involved with many performance groups including Gye Nyame Dance Ensemble, Cultural Expressions, Libation West African Drum and Dance, Jazz Dog, and his own Namu Drum Company.
In response to ongoing forecasts for wintry weather, to include the potential for snow, Berkeley County School District (BCSD) announced that schools will follow the half-day dismissal bell schedule on Tuesday, January 21. Students will learn from home and complete eLearning Day assignments on Wednesday, January 22. All schools and offices will be closed Wednesday.
Additional info: https://www.bcsdschools.net/article/1975777
Happy Sunday, Bonner families. As a reminder, there is no school tomorrow in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We will see you all on Tuesday, weather permitting. Our district will keep us informed on those decisions. Here's a link to what's happening around HBE: https://secure.smore.com/n/fbt9a
We introduce Ms. Becky Becker! She will be working with our 2nd grade students January 27th-January 31st! Becky's specialty is puppetry, our students are in for a treat!
Bio
Becky Becker of Becky's Box of Puppets started performing in 1980 at the Charleston Museum. She became an approved artist with the South Carolina Arts Commission in 1983. She has conducted residencies throughout South Carolina for hundreds of elementary students. She's performed at numerous festivals, libraries and special events. She especially loves working with pre-k and early elementary students!
Our next artist is Ms. Gina Bean! She will be working with our first grade students January 27th-January 31st! Our students will spend the week using mixed media materials to make 3D plants and flowers, which will be displayed gallery style on Family Night.
Bio
Gina Bean is a versatile mixed media and photography artist, as well as a Certified Teaching Artist with extensive training and experience in arts integration. She customizes each residency for schools, tailoring lessons to teacher-chosen standards and objectives. In the classroom, she uses a variety of materials, including paper products, airdry clays, and upcycled items, to inspire creativity, problem-solving skills, and loads of fun for students.
Let's meet the amazing artist who will be working with our Kindergarten students! From January 27th-January 31st all students in kindergarten participate in learning about world percussion music using djembe drums, congas, and other percussion instruments!
Bio
Bhakti Larry Hough is a multidisciplinary performing and teaching artist and modern-day griot who is president and artist-in-residence at NewWorld Arts of Hartsville, South Carolina. His and NewWorld Arts’ mission is to provide inspiring, educational, and entertaining artistic cultural performances that demonstrate, honor, celebrate, and preserve American history that reflects African American heritage for adults and children in public and private settings through his unique artistry. He is a jazz and gospel singer/songwriter and bandleader (The Bhakti Project), poet, narrative history storyteller, West African djembe drum and world percussion player and teacher, and cultural and historic preservation consultant. His performances and presentations are dynamic fusions of some or all of these art forms and are often specifically-designed and themed for the occasion. Hough has served as teaching artist-in-residence in 30 SC public schools, including Thornwell School for the Arts of Hartsville, South Carolina; Ashley River Creative Arts Elementary School of Charleston, South Carolina; and South Florence High School of Florence, South Carolina.
It's almost time! We are excited for our Learning through the Arts Week happening at Bonner January 27th-January 31st. Thanks to the DAP (Distinguished Arts Program) Grant received form the State Department and Glow Run fundraising , we are able to host SEVEN artists this week! Every single child in our school will have the opportunity to work with a professional artist in either dance, theatre, visual art or music. Over the next two weeks will will be introducing our artists to you and sharing what your students will be learning and doing!
Our Learning Through the Arts Night is coming up! Save the date January 30th from 4-6 pm.
Artist and student work will be displayed all over our school. Over the next few weeks we feature our different artists on our page! These artist will work with all of our amazing students January 27th - January 31st.
We are excited to announce that thanks to funding from the state department and the funds raised with Boosterthon we are able to provide EVERY GRADE LEVEL with a residency experience. Students PK-5th Grade will participate in our artist in residency week January 27th-31st. This means your students will have the opportunity to work with professional artists in dance, music, drama and visual art!
All of our artists will assist us in hosting our Learning Through the Arts Night on January 30th! You will have a chance to see what your students have worked on all week and participate in a variety of arts activities with your students.
Save the date for an amazing evening!
We are thrilled to share that over 7,000 books were read during our Read-a-thon! We've heard incredible stories about the fun our students had and the excitement that filled the air.
A huge thank you to Berkeley County School District Office, Timberland High School Beta Club members, Bonner parents, and community volunteers who dedicated their time to read to our classes. Your support made a significant impact!
We hope this event has sparked excitement and ignited a new love for reading! Here's to many more adventures with a book in hand! ❤️🦊
A huge thank you to our Bonner family for helping us spread joy to so many people in our community. We were able to donate all of these items to The Blessing Bag Project through your generosity.
🎉 Our amazing PTO did it again! They treated our entire faculty and staff to a delicious Chick-fil-A lunch as a holiday surprise! We truly have the BEST team! Huge thanks to our wonderful board members for the adorable signs and for helping serve our staff. Your support means the world! 💙 #Grateful #BestPTO #HolidayCheers #inourBonnerEra
A huge THANK YOU to our amazing PTO for spreading holiday cheer today! 🎄They loaded up the Polar Express and surprised us with delightful deliveries of hot chocolate and Christmas tree cakes! We’re so grateful for the kindness and festive spirit you bring to our school. Happy Holidays! 🎁✨ #inourBonnerEra #HolidaySpirit #PTO
We are so excited about our Read-A-Thon this Friday! Students will enjoy a day of reading their own selected books, and each class will have guest readers share some of their favorite children's books throughout the morning. Parents, contact homeroom teachers for “cozy snack” ideas if you'd like to send in a special snack for the class. Friday will be a PAJAMA day with our "cozy reading" theme.
Click on the link to view our photos from our third grade show in November!
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uWODC1YwF5ckoKqHRY1XTbVAf2oi5qjO?usp=drive_link
We are so excited for you to join us for Winter Showcase. Click the link to see individual headshots and group photos of all our club students!
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Rs2Sp6szV1abEihYSToQnfqa4dMbBXTr?usp=drive_link
We cannot wait for you to join us THURSDAY NIGHT for our After School Club Winter Showcase!
This performance will feature performances by chorus, steel pan, beginner band, red and gold dance company, drama club and the MMS step team. Our technical components are operated by the technical theatre club. Our red and gold art club will have ornaments on display in the lobby. All of our set design, art club and robotics will have a video feature in the performance!
The Robofoxes robotics team had a wonderful time participating in the First Lego League Challenge event on Saturday. Way to go Robofoxes!
